Ashes-2023 England VS Australia 16 June-31 July

[Bevab]

Always rated Bairstow.

 

[DuneTiger]

Always rated Bairstow.

Still don't LOOOOOOOOOL

 

[Bevab]

Still don't LOOOOOOOOOL

I may have been slightly sarcastic there.

 

[Aislabie]

Always rated Bairstow.

You say that but he's simultaneously broken the stumps before the ball got to him, and not broken the stumps until after Smith got back in

 

[DuneTiger]

You say that but he's simultaneously broken the stumps before the ball got to him, and not broken the stumps until after Smith got back in

That is a skill in itself

 

[Bevab]

You say that but he's simultaneously broken the stumps before the ball got to him, and not broken the stumps until after Smith got back in

The man is finding new ways to empower wicket-keepers.

Clearly inspired by Thala.

 

[DuneTiger]

From a non-austarlian point of a view, would've been an awesome moment for that sub fielder. Man he was quick.

 

[T.J.Hooker II]

I'm willing to concede that I would pick Smith ahead of Bairstow as wk in my all time XI.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

I made that prediction that first time I saw Smith bat because it's completely obvious to anybody with a decent technical understanding of batting.

And you want to talk about Wagner? In what fantasy world is he express pace?


eta @wasteyouryouth do you have a stat for Smith vs deliveries 92mph and above? Short balls, in particular but it'd be nice to see the whole set.

If his stats are ace at that speed I might have to consider my position. My guess is it cuts his stats by a larger margin than comparable players, though.

Don't have ball tracking stuff with me - what I do have doesn't cover all countries and only goes up to the about 2021.

Using cricinfo, looking at bowlers who have dismissed him three or more times. I would say the top four (by lowest batting average) are probably the fastest four (excluding Yadav and peak Finn).

 

[DuneTiger]

I'm willing to concede that I would pick Smith ahead of Bairstow as wk in my all time XI.

I do wonder if you put people like Smith, Maxwell, Jadeja behind the stumps (with a bit of practice) whether they'd be any good or not.

 

[Bevab]

Don't have ball tracking stuff with me - what I do have doesn't cover all countries and only goes up to the about 2021.

Using cricinfo, looking at bowlers who have dismissed him three or more times. I would say the top four (by lowest batting average) are probably the fastest four (excluding Yadav and peak Finn).

View attachment 281237

Hold up, how does that average work?

 

[T.J.Hooker II]

I do wonder if you put people like Smith, Maxwell, Jadeja behind the stumps (with a bit of practice) whether they'd be any good or not.

He's a genuinely brilliant slip fielder. Has to be on the list for all time great eyes. Plus incredible anticipatory instincts, gets catches where other players might not even be in the right place.

I quite fancy that for a WK.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Hold up, how does that average work?

I cut the top row off. It's Matches, Dismissals, Average in the table. I am assuming it is batting average against the bowler. It doesn't have balls faced which is unfortunate, I'd be interested in strike rates.

 

[Bevab]

I cut the top row off. It's Matches, Dismissals, Average in the table. I am assuming it is batting average against the bowler. It doesn't have balls faced which is unfortunate, I'd be interested in strike rates.

I went and looked at it and it seems like that average is calculated from games where a bowler has dismissed Smith... except it counts all of the runs he made in that game and not just the ones against said specific bowler.

So if for example he has a measly average of just 24.25 in games where Wood has dismissed him... extrapolate that to all games involving Wood and Smith... that jumps to 45.52.

I'm honestly not sure why that average is even mentioned now.

 

[DuneTiger]

Is it just me or do they put way too much emphasis on players records at certain grounds. Like we get it, Smith has a great average here, but that doesn't magically make him harder to dismiss here...